Irregular Update
Sydney Time
Copyright © Ric Einstein 2009
Welcome to the last Irregular Update of 2008. This Christmas Edition is short but contains some worthwhile reading.
Firstly, although there is not a normal article for you this week, there is a composite article for your reading pleasure. It's an eclectic collection of bits and bobs and whilst none of the topics covered justified a snippet or story in their own right, they are still worth covering. Topics range from ludicrously expensive critter wine, through to salt, voodooism, and Iberian wildlife. Something for everyone! "From the Mailbag and Other Things" can be found here.
The last article, "Grange
– Keeping the Bastards Honest" which examined the trials and tribulations of
getting a defective bottle of Grange replaced, has had a happy ending for Murray
Almond, the consumer who had to run the Fosters gauntlet. The most
ridiculous aspect of this saga was that Penfolds received a royal bucketing
which was completely unnecessary, and could have been completely avoided, had
someone in the Customer Service Department been prepared to do the right
thing by the customer, in the first place.
As an aside, speaking of Keeping the Bastards Honest, I am having an "interesting" experience with Seagate, the hard disk manufacturer. My external disk failed after less than three years of age. Seagate in Beijing stated the drive only had a one year warranty. The Australian agent, where the disk was sent, said the same thing. The only "problem" is the box it came in stated it had a five year warranty. It looks like it could be my word against theirs. But wait! There is more. Seagate's own website contains a press release, dated well before I purchased my drive, stating that their drives, world wide, were now covered by a five year warranty. Now lets see the bastards talk their way out of it.
Like most wine lovers, I have been deluged with wine related Christmas e-cards. Unfortunately there are only a few of them, and I have got every one 327.2 times each. However, there is one card that you may not have seen and typifies Red Bigotry. There is also a terrific, short Christmas Video and both are located here.
The News section has been very quiet over the past few weeks but stories of possible interest include...
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Wine industry's fall not such a pleasant drop
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Family plants roots for a healthy future
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BBC cork documentary flawed
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EU, Australia ink wine deal
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Hairdressers face jail for offering customers mulled wine
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Chateau Latour Fetches Record HK$1.32 Million at Hong Kong Sale
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Kiwi wine no longer a one-trick pony
Those stories and more can be found here.
This weeks quote. "Basically the word mankind
is made up of two words, mank and ind. What do these words mean? Nobody knows
and that is why mankind is such a mystery." - Jack Handley
Until next time .... Cheers Ric
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Copyright © Ric Einstein 2008